We had never attempted to purchase a Foreclosure before so we really did not know what to expect. Let me just say, it is not the quickest process. It seemed to take forever for the Bank to respond to our initial offer. Then, when they countered back at the listing price, we felt a little dejected. Luckily, the Realtor Group that we secured was seasoned in this area of expertise and they knew what to do. Eventually, our offer was accepted and the reality that we were really going to do this set in.
As we had all but believed that we were going to stay in the house we dwelled, we had invested quite a lot of elbow grease and upgrades over the years. Our most recent investment was a remodel of the front exterior: ridding it of the high-maintenance cedar siding for the shaker style vinyl we admired on the patio homes and new builds. We also installed a beautiful stone accent wall, a new carriage style garage door, new replacement windows, wooden shutters and restored the wooden front door to match. We removed all the overgrown shrubbery and juniper and installed all new plantings. Fortunately, from all the articles that I have read, that was a sound investment. We had also made upgrades to the kitchen: stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, and the bathrooms over the years. We installed brazilian cherry wood flooring. We had put an addition on several years ago, a family room. We also had the in-ground pool, patios, a large lot that had extensive gardens with perennials, shrubs and trees that formed a private setting in a subdivision. We were confident that the property would sell well. Interest rates were low and the Realtor informed us that there were not a lot of properties in our price point. Low-mid $200,000.
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